Considering a Career in Medicine?

Before you rush to send out your university applications to colleges because you imagine yourself as the brilliant doctor with a heart of gold you see on TV, there are some things you should consider first. The items in this article will also give you some insight in what it takes to go through and complete medical school as well. You might also find that maybe you wanted to be a nurse or a practitioner instead. There are many things you need to consider and we have some of the answers.

When you’re choosing your schools, know that you have options. One student might have a horrible experience and decide to quit the endeavor altogether. There are about 141 accredited medical schools in the country. While some schools might run a traditional curriculum, with lecture heavy lessons, others might use problem-solving teaching methods to help their students learn the same material.

This means that your first task it to look at the school’s philosophy and see if it matches your own. You should also consider that schools in larger cities might also have larger opportunities for learning programs, jobs, and projects for students to undertake.

The bottom line is that as long as you’re not banking on an Ivy League medical school, you can be a bit selective with your choices.

When you finally get into medical school, most students agree that the first two years are the hardest so don’t let them shape your opinion of the experience as a whole. If you go in with the mindset that things will get easier after those introductory years, then you will come out the other side for the better.

Unlike regular college degrees, medical school primarily operates on a pass-fail grading system. That may sound a bit intimidating at first but most students actually prefer this method. It eliminates the stress of competition with other students and the need for higher ranking, which don’t matter much in a real-world setting.

Finally, it’s okay to change majors after a few years of medical school. Like many others before you, perhaps the fantasy of the handsome TV doctor has worn out and the concept doesn’t fill your life with the same luster as before. Understanding what you want from your experiences is a part of life and many people decide to do something else instead.

Medical school is one of the toughest undertakings someone can begin and it takes some serious thought before diving right in. The people that take the time to think about this decision and do the research are often the ones that end up getting their doctorate and going on to practice medicine as their profession.